Lapierre v Cube sizing

defride

Hi all.

Looking for a bit of sizing advice for a first road bike.

I'm 6ft with an 84cm inside leg and I've always ridden "18 mtb's and never enjoyed riding larger.

Using Cubes sizing calculator I come out at a 56, which sounds about right. The other bike I'm interested in is a Lapierre, looks like they're compact sizing, M = 52. On the face of it a 55 would seem the obvious choice however I noticed the TT of the Lapierre 52 is 5mm longer than than the 56 Cube.

So, what do you reckon, 52 in the Lapierre?

Will be able to try a Cube but not the Lapierre, any advice would be great

DrDavros

Which Lapierre? FWIW, I have a 2011 S-Lite (which is the same geo. as the Sensium). I'm way shorter than you (5ft 8") and ride a 52 (which has a 54.5 top tube with a 10cm stem and 1cm of spacers). I've always ridden a 54 or 55 TT so I guess I have a longish torso.

The Xelius range is longer & lower, although I'm still OK on a Med Xelius (52 = 55 TT, but would need a short stem if I rode one regularly- they really are quite racey).

So I think a 52 will be far too small for you.

And they're decent bikes, BTW. Never seen one in the UK, but they're very popular in France.

Davros

defride

Cheers for the reply Davros, I'm thinking Xelius 100/200. Really interesting comments, thanks

EPO Delivery Man

You will definitely be a 56" on the Cube, im 6ft 2 and ride a 58" Cube and its perfect.

Nick_M

I'm 6' tall/33" inside leg and own a 2013 Lapierre Sensium 300 with a 55 cm frame. The fit is just right. Of course, the geometry is a little different from the Xelius but I think a 52 cm Lapierre would be too small for you.

FWIW, when I was buying it I looked at various Cubes, Specializeds etc and found that the frame sizing was all over the place. My 55 cm Sensium is actually very similar in size to my 58 cm Spesh Tricross winter bike. Best to try them out if you can!

defride

Cheers for all the replies, yes, sizing is all over the place isn't it.

Cube 56cm measures a 52cm ST centre to top! Exactly the same as the Lapierre 52 and the Lapierre is 5 mm longer in the TT and a good bit taller in the HT. No info on stack or reach for the Cube, guessing as the frame angles are similar that stack and reach are similar. Will hopefully throw a leg over a Cube next week and get a feel for real world sizing.

Nick and Davros, be interested to know how much seatpost you have showing if it's practical to check?

Nick_M

defride wrote:

Cheers for all the replies, yes, sizing is all over the place isn't it.
Nick and Davros, be interested to know how much seatpost you have showing if it's practical to check?

Not ideal, but this is the only picture I have to hand. My ageing, feeble, middle-aged body provides a sense of scale. Hope this helps.

defride

Thats a cracking looking ride you've there Nick (liking the FDJ bottles!). Many thanks for posting.

Very helpful looking at the way you have it set up. Reach is identical Xelium M and Sensium L and theres only 8mm difference in stack, should be more than enough room for manouvre in terms of seatpost and saddle adjustment by the looks. Given I'm used to tail up head down on the xc hardtail mtb I'm thinking 52 will be ok for me, though I'd agree in the Sensium 55 might be better. If anyone notices a flaw in this logic please chip in.

Very tempting, will have a chat to the dealer tomorrow

DrDavros

I guess mine was a "white edition". Apologies for the bad photo.

There's 16cm of seat post there, BTW. And I never did get round to cutting the steerer. If that's me at 170cm (ish - 5ft 8"), I still think a 52 Xelius will be very cramped for you. If it's you're first road bike, I'd certainly advise trying before buying.

If I come across any of our local Lapierre riders at the weekend (I'm only 20 miles from the factory in Dijon) I'll ask them what size they ride.

defride

Thanks for posting the pic Davros, another good looking machine. Yes, be interesting to hear any local views if you bump into anyone.

Lovely part of the world Dijon, had a glass or two of the local produce last night, very good indeed.

Hoping to get down to the dealer today or tomorrow and have a look at a Cube, though I do like the idea of a Lapierre

defride

Popped down to the dealer and tried the Cube on the weekend. 56 was good, as EPO suggested. 52 Lapierre Xelius is a bigger frame, same seat tube length with longer top tube, head tube and slighter higher bottom bracket so would have been ok.

That said I've gone with the head, the Cube GTC Race is a great and easily upgradeable spec, all Ultegra except cranks and when the time comes a wheel upgrade should make a big difference. Whats more I thought it looked better in the flesh, it was in stock and a good deal for the last one on display. Really looking forward to collecting end of this week.

Many thanks for all the advice.

Nick_M

Be sure to post up a photo when you pick it up. The Cube was my alternative to the Lapierre and I almost bought one myself. They sound to be great bikes so I'm sure you will have an excellent time with it.

defride

Not me sadly, but this is the baby



Will post up a pic when it arrived

defride

Awesome first ride today, flew around a route I figured would take a couple of hours, added a further loop at 2/3 distance when I figured I couldn't have been out that long and was still back in an hour and half. No computer or the like yet, a quick look at the map and it suggests 35 miles+ ! Can't be right, will have a wizz around in the car during the week and see what it actually was.

Can't get over how quick it felt, climbs that would have had me searching the gears on the mtb flew by and on a wee downward incline into a town was greeted by a warning sign telling me I was exceeding 30mph :-)

First ride, big grin. Think I'm going to enjoy this.

Thanks all for the earlier advice

Nick_M

Looks great - very snazzy paint job.

Enjoy!